No. 34 Adelphi tops higher-ranked Bloomsburg, Kutztown at Paul Short

Bethlehem, PA -- On Friday, No. 34 Adelphi took part in the 39th Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh. The Pantheres competed in the Brown Race against nationally-ranked Division II and III schools and some Division I institutions.

The Panthers fared well among the field of 382 runners and 39 teams. They put together 275 points, which placed them fifth overall behind race winners Pittsburg, Rhode Island, Princeton and Indiana (Pa.). They upset nationally-ranked DII opponents No. 16 Bloomsburg, which finished sixth, and No. 25 Kutztown, which finished seventh.

The women were led by junior Elizabeth Eickelberg who set a personal best, cutting her 6k time down by more than a minute to 22:45, which was good enough for 25th. Behind her by 20 seconds was teammate Jacqueline Kaste who also set a personal best by more than 30 seconds. Her time of 23:05 placed her 42nd.

The sophomore duo of Jennifer McNally and Larissa Melendez have been finishing races within 10 seconds of each other so far this season, including Friday. McNally clocked in at 23:21, good enough for 60th, while Melendez was just eight second and six spots behind. Both women also set personal bests in the process.

Freshman Kristina Coiro was the Panthers' fifth runner in the top-85, all under 24 minutes. She placed 82nd and recorded a time of 23:41.

“After looking at last year's competition, we wanted to break into the top eight and we accomplished just that,” head coach Katie Rees said. “Our fifth runner, Kristina, ran over 30 seconds faster than our top girl ran last year. It shows a ton of improvement and I'm happy with the progress all of the girls have been making so far.”